The subject matter herein relates generally to tape dispensing tools.
In many manufacturing facilities, groups or bundles of electrical wires and/or cables are wrapped in a tape. The bundles are wrapped for various reasons, such as to organize a working space by tying all of the wires and/or cables in the bundle together and to provide abrasion resistance for the wires and/or cables in the bundle. For example, some complex manufactured products, such as automobiles, include many electrical wires and cables. Wrapping bundles of wires and/or cables in tape serves to organize and simplify routing of the wires and/or cables during the manufacturing process. Tape wrapping also protects the cable bundles during operation of the manufactured product, such as while the automobile is driven, from abrasions caused by the cable bundles contacting one another, other parts of the product, or environmental components, such as dirt and debris.
One known tape wrapping technique is manual wrapping, which involves a user manually swinging a roll of tape around a perimeter of a cable bundle. Manual wrapping is not without disadvantages, however, including quality control issues and efficiency issues. For example, manual wrapping at an efficient rate is difficult and requires a significant learning curve. Some automatic tape-wrapping tools have been developed to attempt to alleviate the quality control issues associated with manual wrapping, but the known automatic and manual-assist tools are not without disadvantages. Such known automatic and manual-assist tools are expensive and not user-friendly. For example, some such tools are heavy, have a cord that interferes with the operation, and/or vibrate during operation, which may be uncomfortable for the user. In addition, some automatic tools put tension on the cable bundle as the tape is wrapped around the bundle, which may damage the electrical connections at the ends of the wires and/or cables in the bundle.
A need remains for a tape dispensing tool that is user-friendly and allows for efficient and consistent wrapping of cable bundles.